The Fall Of Ancient Rome: The Events That Ended The Romans | Rome: Empire Without Limit | Timeline
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- čas přidán 25. 08. 2023
- In the fourth and final episode, Mary tackles the biggest puzzle of all: why, and how, did the Roman Empire fall? Surveying the massive walls and fortifications of Britain and Germany, she discovers an empire under pressure, struggling to control its borders.
Mary seeks to redefine our understanding of the so-called 'Barbarian Invasions', but also shows that the Roman Empire was facing even greater challenges from within. Maverick emperors upset all the assumptions of right-thinking Romans, while the traditional religion and beliefs of the Roman state came head to head with the absolute conviction of Jews and Christians. Ultimately, Mary asks whether the Roman Empire was transformed rather than destroyed, and indeed lives on in the world we still see all around us - in our institutions and infrastructure, in the aspirations, methodology and symbolism of many empires since.
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I was incredibly fortunate to have Mary Beard as an Art History instructor in Italy many moons ago. She had an extraordinary amount of energy to match her extensive knowledge. Often she would get us into the behind-the-scenes areas where the general public wasn't allowed to show us something amazing. Some of the most awe inspiring moments of my life! Glad to see her still doing her teaching, but for a larger audience. All the best to you Mary!
that’s cool
Wow.fortunate indeed.
Very envious of you! The best way to learn history is to have an expert teach you, and also to walk the grounds where it happened. If you can combine the two, it's the next best thing to having a time machine.
Amazing woman
As class philologist, I do envy you. 😊
I’ll never understand how people aren’t fascinated by this. Like it’s unbelievable the juggernaut of an empire collapsed
It didn’t really collapse. People just slowly wanted independence
There's intricate detail in the Bible, and overwhelming evidence that the Bible is true and accurate.
I started studying world history/politics/ culture abt 5 years ago. Like the saying "all roads lead to Rome" - it's true.
@@JamesBroadwater Hilarious. Tell me another joke!
Every empire, every great civilisation falls.
I love people like Mary who can share their knowledge in an original and relatable way. She makes the Roman world sparkle.
Mary Beard is one of the absolute best historians, with an amazing sense of passion for history. The fact that she's also funny is also great! More of her!!!
she's not funny at all, at the best unintentionally funny
@@OtaBengaBabalanga Like you no doubt.
@@baronmeduse 🤣🤣 you're funny
@@OtaBengaBabalanga Intentionally.
I took an art history course taught by her husband, Robin at the University of London 20 years ago. He is also frighteningly brilliant.
I could listen to her forever… the utter devotion and love of history is so apparent it’s literally a joy to watch her tell these ancient stories ❤️
Why r u focused on her voice. Aren't u interested in the actual history.
@@KD400_Sometimes, when you have a wonderful sounding voice to listen to you remember what you're hearing better. In school we read How Green Was My Valley. Written by a Welshman and set in Wales. Our 'English' teacher was from Wales. She was able to give us an in-depth idea of what coal mining towns were like and with the Welsh accent it really came alive. Plus she taught us the correct pronunciation and I used that info for years until unfortunately it faded from my memory.
@@KD400_ She never said she wasn't, but that Beard's voice was a good medium for it. Calm down.
Same I love her voice and her passion for the subject ...I listen to her stuff to relax and decompress
I ❤️ this Woman - She makes learning history fun 👍
Where was she when we were in school?
She’s awesome.
I love her too
I absolutely love Mary Beard ! She makes Roman History so fun and exciting. I wish I’d had Mary teaching me Ancient Rome, Bettany Hughes teaching Ancient Greece and Egypt, and Suzannah Lipscomb teaching English and French history in the 16th century, covering religious, gender, political, social, and psychological history. She could also teach British and European witch trials. Now that would make for an excellent and exciting syllabus !!!
👍.
I never get tired of the amazing journey that is Rome; nor do I get tired of this amazing lady right here. Good to see a lot of others feel the same,
I absolutely love Mary Beard ! She makes Roman History so fun and exciting. I wish I’d had Mary teaching me Ancient Rome, Bettany Hughes teaching Ancient Greece and Egypt, and Suzannah Lipscomb teaching English and French history in the 16th century, covering religious, gender, political, social, and psychological history. She could also teach British and European witch trials. Now that would make for an excellent and exciting syllabus !!!
What I still found incredibly fascinating is the fact that the Romans built bridges thousands of years ago. And we have to renew ours every 20 years or so.
The fact that their architecture has stand the test of time truly speaks for their craftsmansship.
Roman concrete is superior to the concrete used today. Do a Google search "The Economist Roman concrete".
And that they had amazing water transport system standards...and cement...they were very, very modern.
Given the shocking amount of in-fighting and waste of manpower with the constant civil wars and changes of emperors, I've always been amazed at how long it actually did last.
Mary Beard - one of the greatu story tellers of our time. I love her
Irvin Finkel is just as good
i reckon shes gotta big bush
and very beautiful (for a British female)
"A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within." -- Ariel Durant
Imagine being able to leap forward a 1000 years and listening to lecturers teach of the fall of America by one man called Trump.
@@TheSimidog Hardly an apolitical observation, yet Rome survived Caligula. Nero, Commodus, Caracalla and any number of gruesome emperors.
That's resilience!
Will we be so fortunate?
I recently picked up a copy of Mary Beard's "SPQR" to see how they did it.
Ave Roma!
So Trump will go down in history alongside the likes of Calligula and Nero and those who nearly destroyed an empire.
@@TheSimidog I don't know how Mr Trump will be judged in the future . He might become the only president to pull a "Grover Cleveland" and serve two non consecutive terms.
I don't think the average Roman
Back in 1st or 2nd century Rome had much to say about who the next emperor would be.
Rome had its share of nut cases, but Rome also had some damn good emperors during the 2nd century.
When it comes to selecting a new leader here in the USA the blood is on our own hands.
Will and Ariel were always a good read, but like Gibbon they may have approached their subject with a certain degree of bias.
Gibbon placed much of ancient Rome's woes on its embrace of Christianity and its amnesia toward the "virtues" that made it great, virtues that developed during the very early regal period and the subsequent republic which began in 509BCE according to tradition.
That was long ago and I don't have a time machine to check it out.
I read Mary Beards account of her train ride from Milan many years ago. I say she is a honest and courageous woman to render such an real accounting of her experience then. Remarkable woman and scholar, I admire her. A treasure she is.
An hour watching Mary Beard is an hour well spent. ❤️
This is scaring the shi* out of me there are so many similarities between fall of Rome and present time
I could watch Mary Beard forever. I love history anyway, but Mary’s passion provides even more enjoyment in the subject matter.
One overlooked man in Roman History is Aria. He was the general who had the unenviable task of facing Attila at his most powerful time. He even convinced the Visigoths to side with Rome. He told them that separately, both the Visigoths and Romans would fall. Together, they had a chance. A huge battle took place between the Romans and Visigoths against the Huns. After battling all day, Attila fled. He would never fight again. Soon after he had a wedding. He was found dead in his bed the next morning with no clues as to how he died and the Hunnic Empire faded and never bothered Rome again. It looked like Rome would bounce back strong from this crisis as they did so many times before. But two decades later Rome was destroyed for good. For all his bravery and valor he was awarded by being slain by the emperor. Completely unexplainable. The Visigoths were awarded with land in Gaul. The Franks attacked and they fled to Iberia where they encountered the combined Suavi, Alan, and Vandal tribes. Those tribes were driven out of Iberia. Those tribes ended up in Carthage where they took over the grain silos that fed Rome. Then Rome was forced to pay high prices or starve. The Dark Ages began as Rome fell
@@michaelconnor5378 Fascinating, thank you for this. Much appreciated. A documentary of what you wrote of would be interesting. Let’s hope somebody else in TV sees this and thinks so too!
@@AledPritchard I appreciate the compliment. I’ve always been intrigued on the fall of Rome and how each tribe carved out their own spot. The Franks and Saxons were both from northwestern Germany and had fighting each other well before Rome fell. Then the Franks came into Gaul and pulled the upset on the Visigoths making them flee to Iberia. The Vandals, Alan’s and Suevi were soundly defeated by the Visigoths and fled to Carthage. They actually failed upwards by taking the Roman grain Silos over. Then the Saxons, still up in Northwest Germany, we’re still fighting the Franks and realized it was a fine time to move to England. Of course the Britons invited them after the Romans pulled out and reported back to a weakened Rome. The Britons were being raided by the Irish. The Saxons (Jutes and Angles also) restored order in Britannia. The Britons were quite grateful for the assistance. Unfortunately, The three tribes decided to carve up Britannia and the Britons fled to the west (into Wales). That is where the King Arthur legend began where he fought the Saxons . The Ostrogoths were the tribe that actually sacked and took Rome. Then as the tribes settled in the fifth and sixth centuries, these kingdoms started formulating
You should do a video of Rome after the fall in 476 to 600 AD....
💯
That would be intriguing. I find it especially intriguing that some of the “barbarians”, such as Theodoric thought they were restorers of the Empire not destroyers of it.
This is an unbelievable series and Mary Beard presents it so well.
Makes an already fascinating subject even more interesting somehow
That one Tiktoker gonna be in the comments like: "Ancient Rome didn't exist"
Dr Beard is such a fascinating story-teller! Thank you.
The best documentary on Rome I've ever seen. Thank You Mary Beard
As I often do, I did background reading while I was watching this video series. I was surprised to learn that Mary Beard was publicly attacked for her appearance. I can’t think of anything more stupid. This woman’s subject matter expertise and her love of the material shines through. I think she’s a very enjoyable host, it would’ve been great to have her as a professor.
People have forgotten what how non social media people look.
I find that intellectually offensive. I can’t believe people would do such a thing. That we live in an era where even the most poorly educated can have on demand access to the work of such brilliant minds as hers makes us one of the most fortunate generations ever to exist. To think that somebody would actually disparage such a person for something as trivial as her outward appearance when she clearly has such a glorious mind and such vast knowledge which she is willing to share with the world is monstrous. The cyber glorification of frivolity is the bane of our era.
This documentary & Mary Beard is just brilliant. & Mr Beard appears as a bonus too! 😊❤
Ah! How refreshing to see Mary Beard ♥from what I call the 'old guard' in history presenters. Even though this is from 2016, great story telling for a history nerd like me, doesn't get old!
I love the way she explains things, keeps you interested all the time.. Will watch more from her..
New Mary Beard content is just what I needed today.
I love listening to Mary Beard. She makes it interesting - and tells it exactly as it was!
It was an informative and thrilled historical coverage video about Roman Empire falls...she labeled to all reasons..that collapsed Roman empire gradually. Free barbarians outside walls 🧱 while domesticated barbarians within walls. Thank you for sharing
I listened for the first 49 mins, and although it was interesting, Mary never addressed the main question "why, and how, did the Roman Empire fall", that was after all , what this video was meant to be about, and she even teased it at the beginning , but never mentioned "the fall" again , at least not in the first 49 mins. Annoying , since i downloaded this video onto my phone , for a long train journey.
She is overhyped for sure. She is a master at repackaging ideas and getting BBC to pay for trips to Europe.
Why do empires and civilisations decline and "fall" (although the reality is not a complete, apocolyptic annihilation, but a decline into something new, which, in its turn begins the cycle of wax and wane, all over again)? It has happened repeatedly, throughout history, in fact, it is history; the empires of Babylon, and Assyria, the Zhou dynasty of China; Eygpt, which lasted through countless upheavals and interregnums, the particular cultures are no longer around, but new variations of these cultures still exsist. Call them cultural heirs, if you will. I do not include the great civilasations of the New World" in this list, as the devestation (disease, enslavement, etc.) truly was a collapse; traces remain, but buried under the influence of the Spanish and other European invaders. I grew up in the rural South (USA), so from an early age, I was exposed to a steady diet of "we are living in the last days..." thinking. In Jr. High, there was one teacher, a Baptist preacher's wife, who spent more time preaching decline and fall and the second coming of Jesus, than she did history. The fact that she was employed as a teacher was more of a sign of decline than American's love of football. We live in a time of chaos, but then, humans always have; as Ms. Beard points out: causes for decline and fall are multiple and tangled.
Interesting .
The average age of an Empire is 250 years.
Simple reason is that it breaks from within. The men abandon their roles and the women follow aswell.
Christians destroyed Rome. It’s very simple. They replaced protective gods with a narcissist who demanded fealty or death. Awful stuff and it still threatens us today.
Such an insightful perspective on the dichotomy of the religions.
This is amazing❤
"Poverty a virtue" an idea I might adopt to help me feel better.
So good...thank you
I would love to see her do one dedicated to Livia Drucilla and the women of Rome. ❤
The only ones you learn about is the ones related to the life of Ceasar and maybe some intrusive, power hungry mothers.
Just to let u know that most women back then got married young. Very young actually and listened to the men in their lives. Most of their time was devoted to their family. That doesn't mean they didn't have other roles but in general they were with the family
Gosh! That's an education! Thank you!
I cover the "fall" of Rome in the west every semester. There is a lot we can learn about it in our society today. I also have videos on the topic. Including one on the "dark ages"
You say "fall" presumably because various leaders carried the torch of the roman church into the future? But there clearly was a fall of something, of a massive cohesive state that reverted to a jumble of warring factions. So saying "fall" kinda diminishes what actually happened, a center of impressive power was relegated to a backwater with fancy ruins.
@@stemid85 I say fall in quotes because the Roman Empire did not just end overnight. There was a very long transition
😢❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
@@HistoryfortheAgesI think the Empire ended after the Death of Marcus Aurelius. The Adoptive Emperors were the zenith of Roman power and After that it collapsed Year by year
@e.l.b6435 That is where I start the fall. From Commodus. They did have a bit of a recovery after the crisis of the 3rd century but not enough
This tickled my little shroom brain. Loved it.
Amazing historian and communicator. ❤
Outstanding !
Her voice to me is like a British granny I never had teaching me history lol I love it.
7:47 The busts eyes look like a heart. There was an herb now extinct/unknown to exist that had heart shaped pods. I believe it was possibly an Orphic associated plant… could that be why the heart is used in the pupils?
I am not certain as to why the pupils have that shape. The plant you mentioned may be silphium. Reasons for its disappearance range from desertification of the plant's habitat, overharvesting, and that it could not be cultivated.
Do we know for sure where Jon Snow was stationed at on Hadrian's Wall?
The wall is in Northern Manitoba in Canada
(NO vegetables were harmed in the making of this broadcast) also: that pizza looks gross
I heard the food is nasty gross in Rome no matter what restaurant
@@bonbonvegabon Who told you that? McDonalds?
I never eat McDonalds@@baronmeduse
@@bonbonvegabon Especially McDonalds Rome.
Mary and her husband would be my dinner guests every weekend lol....dinner conversations would be epic
There's no such thing as 4 emperors/ 1 nation. 4 emperors = 4 nations. Splitting the empire was the most land Rome ever lost without a battle, and the many wars that resulted from the split weren't civil wars...they were just wars.
In 395, When Theodosius died, his 2 sons ran the east and west split. Then, there was the British isles, where an additional Caesar was in charge
Yeah that's what I thought. A bit like saying The European Union is one Empire.
so interesting!
Really interesting
Well done
Thanks a bundle.
Awesome ❣️
I’m watching her with the pizza and am saying, “Eat the damned thing already before it gets cold!!!”
11:04 Never, ever play with food. Not even if you want to metaphorize the Roman Empire.
Mary Beard is the most passionate historian… up there with Bethany Hughs.
❤🇨🇦
Is Mary Beard doing any other videos?
Shows how clever and powerful Diocletian was. It went to 💩 the moment he stepped aside. The way they treated each other was just disgusting. Even killing and blinding family members. Just beyond me.
Did the Empire have a wall in the south as well, or did they raise up a wall only in the North of the Roman Empire? I can't remember seeing such a wall anywhere in the south. Also: Why didn't they finish the wall. Did the Empire die before the wall was finished ?
Stupendous! So fortunate to have had this amazing woman for Graeco-Roman Studies: "Republic to Empire: How Greece conquer Rome - or did they?"
11:18 hehehe this pizza scene what she is doing reminds me of that meatball,tomato sauce ,spaghetti scene where Michael Keaton's Batman was explaining to Flash how time travel/multiverse does work.
She's the best.
She is so cool, funny,and amazing
I need this woman to teach everything ❤❤❤
The 2nd most underrated roman emperor Julius Valerius Majorian
It was the emergence of the archetype of the self that precipitated the end of Rome. This took thousands of years and untold human suffering, which could only have emerged because of Rome, without a single moment of empathy.. There was also a precipitating event, which was the eruption of Krakatoa in 536 AD.
Peoples front of Judea!
Splitters!
Jerash, Kingdom of Jordan 🇯🇴 host best Roman Ruins I have ever seen!
I just love Mary...!
No one compares to Mary Beard. I should love to find one like her, not younger, but available
Hail Mary
I watched and I still don't know why the Roman Empire fell.
This was nothing more than an infomercial about Christianity. This documentary never mentioned the Battle of Adrianople or their invasions from Germanic tribes.
You mean Catholicism
Goths and vis Goths was no joke
Rome never controlled the Baltic Seas
Love her voice =D
It was all of it at ones...the perfect storm
I think about the fall of the Roman Empire multiple times a week!
That Pizza did not look appertising ! very dry ! wont be eating there !!!!
did you say Paul was from Turkey???? Can we use the historically accurate names of places at least on a channel dedicated to history?
I have studied the rise & fall of Rome for 25 years.
If you really want to enjoy it check out Mike Duncans podcast, CZcams videos & books.
He is delightful.
Well done.
Call me crazy, but I'm itching to have this lady host a cooking show.
Could Hadrian's wall be an actual road???
No, it's an actual wall.
Thank you for this
We love listening to her here in America
I'd like to know the relationship between economic decadence of Rome and the convinience of a poverty doctrine in a moment when the empire was in plain decadence
Very nice, but... pizza Romana has anchovies and capers 😅
My Dear Mary, why do you keep forgetting Portugal..?
The empire did not stop at Spain, no..
It continued West right into Portugal..
Mary, she’s my favorite historian after Lucy
What do we call Roman then and now after the Roman Empire fell (or spilt in 2)?
Love Mary Beard.
Well done Mary
Hoy en día seguimos utilizando las letras romanas. El abecedario latino.
Now a days we still using the roman letters. The latin abecedary.
well, if the last few Western emperors managed to rule/ live a bit longer and together with the East managed to re-conquer Vandal Africa then the Western empire may have survived just as long as the Eastern one and with all the changes caused by both of them being still around, alive and kicking, they could be possibly still around in some shape or form even today.
After all if the West managed to survive and integrate Germanic invaders they would get quite a few centuries of relative peace on European front till turn of the millennium and arrival of Viking and Hungarian raiders( Slavs been heading mostly for the East and Balkan)
It's an easy answer really, Rome was simply too big to maintain. Like all empires e.g. the British, the Soviet Union, the Ottomans, it becomes too expensive, too difficult, too disparate, just TOO MUCH to handle. That Rome succeeded as long as it did is the marvel and testament that it was exceptional, but ultimately not surprising that it crumbled like all the rest.
You can find a lot of reasons for Rome's decline, but they can all be summarized in two words: Social Entropy. Jist like in the physical world, it happens to every society, though they always think it never will. Look around you, America.
We've been noticing since Trump our disgraceful leader ruined the USA.
When Julian died, when many, particularly in the western cities were still pagan the empire died too. It was no longer what Rome began as. It changed completely. Rome was at its most magnificent in the early to mid .4th century as a city. But I’d probably have chosen to live in the time of Antoninus Pius
What is with the Period of the 5 god emperors?
@@e.l.b6435 what about it? That was certainly the best time to live in the empire. Well probably prior to the plague hit in the 160s
@@Insectoid_ Because you said, that the 4th Century was the best Period of the Roman Empire? I don‘t think so in my opinion
WHEN ONE CLOSES ONE SELF IN THEN OTHERS SEEK TO ENTER NO MATTER WHAT.
we would have to bear with you even if it wasn't so complicated....
Relationship between Romans and their gods, so much like it still exists in India.
The Roman Empire was on full display during the Inquisition period.
Very nice presentation
What Ms Beard left out, was the fact that a Roman family promoted the Jesus myth, together with collaborating Jewish scholars, in order to seize control.
The Flavians comissioned the Gospels after the Jewish war with the Romans at 70 present era.
She is right that the Roman Empire still exists through Christianity, which is the religion that has won out so far worldwide, and through practise of law in Western society, etc.
At the time, when there were many religious freaks and messiahs, there might have been a carpenter Jesus, though not of Nazareth, because it did not exist then.
Either way, it does not matter if Jesus existed or not. Fact is, the Flavians based the story of their superhero in the Gospels on the campaign of Titus, but with a Jewish anti-hero, and added fullfilled prophecies from the Jewish lirerature, and resurrection rituals from Egypt and blood sacrifaces from Mithras etc. so it appeals to everyone.
It was a masterful piece of propaganda, and until today billions are still spellbound by the Only One.
Notably, the USA is the only Western democratic country that does not make a hattip to a God in its constitution.
Paul was not a "salesman. He was a lawyer. In fact he was such a prominent legal scholar prior to his converion, he was said to be the only man in Israel that could condemn a person without a hearing. "Salesman"? What else do you have wrong, Mary?
Thank goodness for the x2 option. Get on with it. A pizza analogy?! Im not 3.
Didnt the world plunge into the Dark Ages after the fall of Rome? All the knowledge was lost. Interesting take you have on this.